A/N: I'm so sorry! I just now realized that I (somehow) posted chapter one again instead of chapter two. I have no idea how that happened. Apologies! So many apologies!

In the Night © inogirl13

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

A muffled sound woke him from his slumber. The room was dark; he shook himself awake, and there was the sound again, only this time more like a banging. Yes, that's what it was: banging—on his door. The lazy ninja groggily stood out of bed and, rubbing his eyes, made his way to the front door. To his dismay, he felt the icy sting of a hand smacking his face upon his opening the door. Seeing it was his girlfriend of 6 months, he staggered backward and yelled, "What the hell, Ino?" Said troublesome woman stormed into the little apartment with her hands on her hips. She turned to face him and waited until he had stopped rubbing his sore jaw, then promptly slapped him once more. "Don't pretend you don't know what this about!" He was utterly confused—and scared. There was no telling what would trigger this blonde's wrath. She stuck her finger in his face and furrowed her brow, "You know what you were doing this afternoon!" He opened his mouth to speak but she had already started spewing off at the mouth almost talking 100 miles a minute, "You were flirting—flirting!—with that Sand Princess twat! When Sakura first told me, I didn't believe it! My Shikamaru would never do that! But then I thought about it: why would my best friend since grade school lie to me? And I know you had a crush on her before we started dating—you told me you didn't anymore, but how can I believe you now that you make googly eyes at her whenever I turn around! And the whole damn world knows that that big pineapple-haired slut is desperately in love with you! So…" She finally stopped, sighing in exasperation. Her delicate, manicured hand was clasped tightly around his perfectly good table lamp—although, to her it was probably better described as a missle launch, ready to aim. Her voice turned sweet and she smiled maliciously, "You have two options, Nara. Either tell me the truth that you were, in fact, flirting with that whore, and I can kick your ass now, or lie to me, and I can find out the truth and kick your ass later—harder. Now, don't lie to me, Nara Shikamaru!" He sighed, not sure how to respond. It seemed like a lose-lose situation.

"I wasn't flirting with her. She came on to me; I turned her away." He tried to speak calmly and firmly.

Ino clenched her fists, then let them go quickly. "Well, I guess you've chosen then." With that, she began to walk past him to the door. Before she could put her hand on the door knob, he gripped her shoulders tightly, and she yipped a little. He did his best to keep her eye contact, but when he wasn't going to kiss her in the next minute it was extremely hard to lock eyes with the intimidating blonde. He did his best to talk genuinely, "I love you, Ino. Not Temari, or anyone else. You. I would never hurt you." He leaned in to kiss her. This would all be over once their lips met; they could both forget about this little incident and move on, but she whispered, "I don't believe you." He couldn't believe it! All that gushy crap that she begs for and she doesn't believe him! He wasn't one to get angry, but this really made his blood boil. He quickly tightened his grip on her arms, then let her go forcefully. He ripped the cigarettes off the counter and left, making sure to slam the door.

It'd been at least a couple hours—enough to make it past sunset, anyway. Shikamaru had been through two cigarettes, contemplating the complete idiocy of leaving an angry woman in his apartment. He sighed, thinking of the inspection he'd have to do upon returning. Time was flying away from him, and before long it'd be the middle of the night. His anger had subsided a little bit from the walking, and he knew that when they saw each other again, he'd melt in her eyes and be her bitch once again.

He was so whipped.

He passed by a restaurant and saw Chouji inside, chomping away on some barbeque: talking to an old friend sure beat returning to sabotage on his apartment. He sauntered in and took a seat in the booth next to his chubby pal. Looking up from his food, but not stopping the train from his plate to his mouth, he smiled cheekily, "Oh, hey, Shikamaru! Shouldn't you be cuddling up with Ino now? It's almost 10."

Shikamaru remained silent. Chouji sat up at his uncomfortable air. "Wait a minute. Don't tell me," he said, finally sitting down his food. "Another fight?"

The lazy ninja groaned and avoided eye contact by shoving his hands over his face in frustration. "She's just so…"

"Loud?" Chouji tried.

"No," Shikamaru stated quickly.

"Aggressive?" He suggested.

"No," Shikamaru again made clear.

"Bitchy?" Once again, he attempted.

"No!" Shikamaru yelled, letting his arms fall with a thud on the table. "I don't know what the hell is up with her! One minute, she swooning in my arms, and the next, she's about to cut up my dick into a million pieces! She's everything I want and everything I hate all wrapped up into one! I have no idea why the fuck I'm with her!"

"So break up with her," Chouji simply said.

Shikamaru's eyes bulged, "What?"

"Look, she's my friend. But you are, too. She'll move on if you make a clean break. If she doesn't make you happy, then you shouldn't be with her. Have you ever thought about it? Isn't it only logical?" He gave a weak smile and once again attended to his grilled meat.

Shikamaru twiddled his thumbs, "She does make me happy. It's just…she also drives me crazy."

With a piece of meat hanging out of his mouth, Chouji grinned, "Hey, what's love without a little craziness?" Shikamaru smirked at this: too true, he thought.

"Shikamaru, you've kind of never talked this much in one sitting—ever. When you say a lot, it means you really care. Now other than the fact that this is kind of freaking me out, I think deep down you really care about her. What you have to think about is if it's love or friendship. You gave it a shot. Maybe you just aren't meant to be…"

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes before patting his friend on the shoulder and whispering, "I'll sleep it over, buddy. Thanks."

He yawned as he reached his apartment door. He was really bushed. All he was looking forward to were the next ten hours of solid sack time. He unlocked the door and cautiously swung it open.

No damage to the naked eye. He would have to perform a full examination in the morning. For right now, the bedroom was calling his name. He slipped his shoes off in the dark and made his way to the familiar door of his room. He pushed it open but was startled to find a small body under his sheets. The curtains flowed slightly from the open window and let the moonlight cast a pale blue glow on the room. The shadows over her body accentuated her perfect curves formed under the sheets. He groaned softly. This was it. He'd walk closer, stare at her impeccable body, and forget everything. Shit, she had power of him: mind boggling, controlling, incredibly sexy power.

This was way too troublesome.

He made his way over to her, trying to decide his line of action. Continuing their "discussion" would be such a drag. Then again, putting it off till tomorrow might only fuel the anger.

"Damn it," he whispered, squatting down next to her. His eyes searched her face, beautifully glowing from the moonlight, for signs of being awake as he stretched his hand to the side of her face. He slowly picked up a loose strand of white blonde hair that was covering her face and tucked it behind her ear. Then he made his way down her collar bone to her smooth arms; they had narrow purple bruises on them from his grip on her earlier, and he suddenly wanted to punch himself for hurting her. Before he could get to that, her eyelashes fluttered and he thought she might wake up, but she just opened her lips slightly and sighed, shifting slightly half under the sheets.

She was stunning…even in her sleep.

He found himself being extremely soft hearted in this moment, even considerate. Shikamaru of the harsh day might have been disgusted, but Shikamaru of the gentle night didn't care. Maybe in the morning they'd fight some more, maybe he'd be kicked out of his own apartment once more. But for right now, she was calm, and all his. All he knew was that his gorgeous girlfriend had that peaceful look on her delicate face and she was picturesquely placed in his bed—his possession. And nothing else mattered.

IMPORTANT A/N: I've recieved a few comments about continuing this story. I recognize that it is left a little hanging, and that's exactly the point of the fic. My entire thought process is that to Ino and Shikamaru it doesn't matter in the slightest what happens the next day. All they know is that for that night they have each other in a fond, loving light. The rest is simply of no importance. That's why I have to refuse the pleas to write another chapter. The characters don't care what happens tomorrow, so, quite frankly, neither do I.